different life style now

[chestert6]

Hello, I am a 52 year old woman who was diagnosed with fibromyalgia recently. Did not realize that this disease effects the body this way. It has progressively gotten worse in the past two years and It appears it has settle to being with me daily. I am a person who loves being outside with dogs doing things with my kids and not afraid of working hard in the yard. So this is definitely a different life style i have to get used to.

 

[30 plus years]

For now, that's the reality, since there's no cure. It's difficult to even find effective medicine, and doctors are still scratching their heads. Fibromyalgia is a difficult, but not impossible, condition to live with.
Learning to manage it takes time and often is a work in progress.
But you've found a really good place to vent your feelings, ask questions or gain useful tips on this forum. It's one of the few places you'll find people who really get it. You're not alone.

 

[chestert6]

thank you. I'm finding out that the symptoms I have are. it as common in the forum.
such as:
breathing issues
eye blurry
dizziness
memory loss
some discomfort in knees and feet and neck
However I don't really feel like I'm in pain or inflammation

 

[sunkacola]

thank you. I'm finding out that the symptoms I have are. it as common in the forum.
such as:
breathing issues
eye blurry
dizziness
memory loss
some discomfort in knees and feet and neck
However I don't really feel like I'm in pain or inflammation

This being the case, I question whether or not you have fibromyalgia. Now, I am not a doctor, so this is just an opinion and may not be worth anything. But fibromyalgia is defined as being a chronic pain condition, so if you do not have any pain then I suspect you may have something different going on.

Breathing issues, blurry vision, and dizziness are not actually common symptoms with fibromyalgia. Have you had an MRI of your head to scan for brain tumors? (Don't let the question freak you out! It's just an idea).

Inflammation does not necessarily go along with fibromyalgia. But pain does. If you do not have chronic pain then you may not have fibro.

Has a doctor diagnosed you with fibromyalgia? And if so, what criteria did they use to diagnose you?

 

[chestert6]

yes have been to rheumatologist and neurologist had many labs done that have come back normal MRI was clear so no MS and neurologist pressed on shoulders hip thighs and I have pain when touched. Been to pulmonary doctor and lungs are good. I don't know a person can be so health but feel so bad that she can't do anything. I have to say in the back of my head O don't think I have Fibromyalgia.
Now I do have to say I have chronic pain from a back issue and have been on cymbalta for many years (over 7 years) so I don't know If I just got used to feeling a certain way.

 

[sunkacola]

neurologist pressed on shoulders hip thighs and I have pain when touched

This is called "the pressure point test" and no doctor who knows anything about fibromyalgia ever uses this. The concept of this "test" was thoroughly debunked about 20 years ago. It's worthless in diagnosing fibromyalgia. So.....if this is what made someone tell you that you have fibromyalgia, I am once again questioning if that is what you have.

You say that you do not have pain except in your back where you know what the problem is. This is not fibromyalgia pain, then.

I think, and again remember this is only a somewhat informed opinion and not a medically-trained one, that your problems may be stemming from the cymbalta. Those are actually common side effects from that medication, and I think it would be worthwhile for you to talk to your doctor about this. Continuing to take a medication that is causing those side effects (IF that is what's going on for you) is very dangerous.

Now, I am not saying you don't have fibro. I don't know. But from what you are saying, I think it would really be worth your time to investigate this further.
Either way, and no matter what, you are very welcome here on this forum and if we can be of any assistance to you, don't hesitate to ask us. We are here to help each other.

 

[chestert6]

thank you for response. I will Look up Cymbalta. we have come down in the cymbalta at the beginning of all this and added a deferent medication for depression. I thought we knocked the medication part out but worth checking into.

 

[Borzov1982]

These are all symptoms of neurosis. Fibromyalgia is a heterogeneous disease - the causes are different, but the result is the same. Most often, F. is associated with stress. Stress can lead to disruption of the central nervous system - neurosis. Neurosis is an old name, still popular in Russia, it is like a general name for neurotic spectrum disorders. According to modern concepts, F. is largely a somatoform disease. The doctor told me that this is a complex disorder, but in his opinion, all the symptoms of F. are neurosis. Moreover, this doctor himself was struck by F. three years before that, so he devoted a lot of attention to this problem. Of course, I could not believe him then that this was the reason, although I had already visited all the doctors a hundred times, taken tests and underwent examinations a hundred times and these doctors could not find anything in me. When I went to the orthopedist (the fourth one) and said that when I sit on the toilet and start defecating, I can get a tingling sensation where my nipples are, the doctor barely held back his laughter and looked at me like I was an idiot. Neurosis can have three degrees of severity: mild - amenable to therapy, long-term remission; moderate - the effectiveness of treatment is relative, periods of remission can be short, frequent exacerbations; severe - therapy is powerless, at best there is a slight improvement in symptoms, the course is continuous. What is the relationship between fibromyalgia and neurosis? The fact is that our body does not work separately from the brain, it is a single whole. The work of the body's organs is controlled from the brain. The work of the muscles is very closely interconnected with the brain - hence the problems with the muscles, intestines, bladder. Also, when the brain is not functioning properly, central sensitization can occur - normal sensations begin to seem painful, and those signals from organs that a healthy person does not feel - suddenly begin to be felt. I remember how my bladder felt like a soccer ball was swollen and pressing there. Sometimes during urination I felt like water was flowing in my stomach, the urologist said "this can't be!!" Well, in addition to everything, when the brain is not working properly, problems with concentration, eyes, heart, breathing (diaphragm neurosis) and other complaints arise.

 

[chestert6]

thank you for input.

 

[johnsalmon]

According to modern concepts, F. is largely a somatoform disease.

disagree fibromyalgia may indeed bring on depression but it is not a somatoform disease.

 

[Borzov1982]

disagree fibromyalgia may indeed bring on depression but it is not a somatoform disease.

Okay. Then I'm interested to hear Your opinion, what do You think are the causes of fibromyalgia? And what are Your arguments that F. is not correctly considered from the position of a somatoform disorde

 

[johnsalmon]

current thinking is it a CNS condition however some consider it a autoimmune diseases. I am more leaning to a CNS disease as most research does

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published by the American Psychiatric Association, emphasizes these points in the diagnosis of somatic symptom disorder:

• You have one or more somatic symptoms — for example, pain or fatigue — that are distressing or cause problems in your daily life
• You have excessive and persistent thoughts about the seriousness of your symptoms, you have a persistently high level of anxiety about your health or symptoms, or you devote too much time and energy to your symptoms or health concerns
• You continue to have symptoms that concern you, typically for more than six months, even though the symptoms may vary

you may have a a somatoform disorder but that does mean that all persons suffering from fibromyalgia have a a somatoform disorder

 

[Borzov1982]

Вы правы, причина в ЦНС, но соматоформные расстройства возникают из-за проблем в ЦНС. Как сказал мой врач Ф., это сложное психическое, неврологическое расстройство. Оно часто возникает как реакция на стресс и как реакция на соматическое заболевание. Успех лечения Ф.во многом зависит от лечения основного заболевания, вызвавшего появление Ф. Хочу, чтобы власть Ф. это гетерогенное заболевание - разные причины проявления Ф., результат один и тот же. Кстати, Вы не задумывались, почему Ф.встречается чаще у женщин? Врач сказал, потому что невроз у женщин встречается гораздо чаще, чем у мужчин - различия в работе и взаимосвязях отделов головного мозга, мозга имеют некоторые различия в зависимости от пола. Проблема в работе мышц во многом связана с нейромедиатором норадреналин, поэтому дулоксетин и венфлаксин являются препаратами основного выбора - они приводят к обратному захвату норадреналина. Этот нейромедиатор сильно влияет на работу органов, в том числе мышц мышц, кишечника, заболеваний кишечника и синдрома раздражения кишечника. Кстати, человек дышит благодаря мышцам - диафрагме, она расширяет и сужает легкие в процессе дыхания. Отсюда и проблемы с дыханием. Норадреналин находится за пределами головного мозга и в других частях тела. Следующий момент это серотонин. Помимо регуляции настроения и восприятия информации внешнего мира этот нейромедиатор влияет на восприятие сигналов от переферических нейронов. Вы наверное заметили, что антидепрессанты из группы СИОЗС затрудняют достижение оргазма. Это происходит потому, что мозг начинает слабо распознавать сигнал от раздражения половых органов. Есть еще один момент в Ф., это то, что перефирические нейроны (ноцицепторы) включаются и не могут отключиться. Представьте, что вы легли спать, в комнате горит свет, вы нажимаете кнопку выключателя, чтобы выключить свет, но свет не выключается, кнопка заклинило в положении «включено». Для отключения этой кнопки используйте антиконвульсанты (лирика, габапентин).
В ситуации с автором поста в качестве причины Ф. имеют место соматические заболевания. , если я правильно понял, он страдает рядом изнурительных нарушений опорно-двигательного аппарата и перенес не одну операцию

 

[Borzov1982]

You are right, the reason is in the central nervous system, but somatoform disorders arise from problems in the central nervous system. As my doctor F. said, this is a complex mental, neurological disorder. It often occurs as a reaction to stress and as a reaction to a somatic disease. The success of F. treatment largely depends on the treatment of the underlying disease that caused F. I want F. to rule. This is a heterogeneous disease - different causes of F., the result is the same. By the way, have you ever wondered why F. occurs more often in women? The doctor said, because neurosis in women is much more common than in men - differences in the work and relationships of parts of the brain, the brain have some differences depending on gender. The problem in muscle function is largely associated with the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, so duloxetine and venlafaxine are the drugs of choice - they lead to the reuptake of norepinephrine. This neurotransmitter greatly affects the functioning of organs, including muscles, intestines, bowel diseases and irritable bowel syndrome. By the way, a person breathes thanks to muscles - the diaphragm, it expands and contracts the lungs during breathing. Hence the breathing problems. Norepinephrine is located outside the brain and in other parts of the body. The next point is serotonin. In addition to regulating mood and perceiving information from the outside world, this neurotransmitter affects the perception of signals from peripheral neurons. You have probably noticed that antidepressants from the SSRI group make it difficult to achieve orgasm. This happens because the brain begins to weakly recognize the signal from irritation of the genitals. There is another point in F., this is that peripheral neurons (nociceptors) turn on and cannot turn off. Imagine that you went to bed, the light is on in the room, you press the switch to turn off the light, but the light does not turn off, the button is stuck in the "on" position. To turn off this button, use anticonvulsants (lyrica, gabapentin). In the situation with the author of the post, somatic diseases are the cause of F. , if I understand correctly, he suffers from a number of debilitating musculoskeletal disorders and has undergone more than one operation

 

[Borzov1982]

You are absolutely right, F.i. is a heterogeneous disease. In addition to the causes of mental stress, it occurs as a reaction to various other somatic diseases, including autoimmune ones, such as rheumatism, systemic lupus erythematosus and others.